Vārāṇasī - moksha sthānam for both Hari and Hara bhaktas - Nārada Puranam

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V Subrahmanian

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Jan 10, 2026, 6:19:37 AM (9 days ago) Jan 10

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The Narada Puranam gives, in this chapter, a great message:

https://sa.wikisource.org/s/4xj

Below is a clear, faithful meaning of each verse, retaining the Sanskrit intact, and giving an Advaita-sensitive, non-sectarian purport, as the verses themselves intend.

**वाराणसी तु भुवनत्रयसारभूता रम्या नृणां सुगतिदा किल सेव्यमाना ।।

अत्रागता विविधदुष्कृतकारिणोऽपि पापक्षये विरजसः सुमनः प्रकाशाः ।। ४८-१३ ।।**

Meaning:
Vārāṇasī is indeed the very essence of the three worlds, delightful and auspicious, and is renowned as the bestower of the highest goal to human beings who resort to it. Even those who arrive here having committed various grave misdeeds, upon the destruction of their sins, become purified, free from inner taints, and attain clarity and luminosity of mind.

**इदं गुह्यतमं क्षेत्रं सर्वप्राणिसुखावहम् ।।

मोक्षदं सर्वजंतूनां वैष्णवं शैवमेव च ।। ४८-१४ ।।**

Meaning:
This sacred field is the most secret and profound of all holy places, bringing welfare to all living beings. It bestows liberation upon every creature, and is equally Vaishnava and Shaiva in essence (i.e., transcending sectarian distinctions).

**ब्रह्मघ्नगोघ्नगुरुतल्पगमित्रध्रुक्चन्यासापहरक्लशिदादिनिषिद्धवृत्तिः ।।

संसारभूतदृढपाशविमुक्तदेहो वाराणसीं शिवपुरीं समुपैति मर्त्यः ।। ४८-१५ ।।**

Meaning:
Even a mortal who has engaged in prohibited acts—such as killing a brāhmaṇa, killing a cow, violating the teacher’s bed, betraying friends, stealing deposits, causing distress to ascetics, and similar forbidden conduct—
on reaching Vārāṇasī, the city of Śiva, becomes freed from the firm bonds of saṃsāra, and his embodied existence is released from those binding fetters.

**क्षेत्रं तथेदं सुरसिद्धजुष्टं संप्राप्य मर्त्यः सुकृतप्रभावात् ।।

ख्यातो भवेत्सर्वसुरासुराणां मृतश्च यायात्परमं पदं सः ।। ४८-१६ ।।**

Meaning:
Having attained this sacred field—frequented by gods and siddhas—a mortal, by the power of accumulated merit, becomes renowned even among gods and demons; and upon death, he attains the supreme state (paramaṁ padam).

**क्षेत्रेऽस्मिन्निवसंति ये सुकृतिनो भक्ता हरौ वा हरे पश्यंतोऽन्वहमादरेण शुचयः संतः समाः शंभुना ।।

ते मर्त्यां भयदुःखपापरहिताः संशुद्धकर्मक्रिया भित्वा संभवबंधजालगहनं विंदंति मोक्षं परम् ।। ४८-१७ ।।**

Meaning:
Those meritorious and pure-minded persons who dwell in this sacred place—whether devoted to Viṣṇu or to Śiva—who behold the Lord daily with reverence, living a life of purity and goodness, dear to Śambhu himself—
such mortals, free from fear, sorrow, and sin, with their actions fully purified, break through the dense web of repeated birth, and attain supreme liberation.

Overall Purport (संक्षेपार्थ):

These verses present Vārāṇasī as a transcendental kṣetra,

beyond sectarian boundaries (Vaiṣṇava–Śaiva unity),
capable of neutralizing even the gravest sins,
and ultimately serving as a means to mokṣa, not merely punya.

The emphasis is not ritual alone, but inner purification, devotion, and release from saṃsāra—fully consistent with Advaitic and Purāṇic theology.